Mason&#39;s trig line holder



Sept. 15, 1964 v. s. D1 CARLO 3,148,453

MASON S TRIG LINE HOLDER Filed Dec. l0, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 swg. 1.

VIII

INVENTOR Vincem 6. DICO/"lo A7' TORNEYS Sept. 15, 1964 v. s. D1 CARLO 3,148,453

MASONS TR1@ LINE HOLDER Filed Dec. 1o, 1962 swg.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,una n A T TOR/UE YS United States Patent O 3,148,453 MASNS TRIS Lib@ HGLDER Vincent S. Di Carlo, Leawood, Kans. (5610 Prospect, ans City, Mo.) Fiied Dec. 1t), 1962, Ser. No. 243,306 3 Claims. (Cl. 33-85) This invention relates to brick laying instruments, and more particularly to trig line holding devices designed primarily for use by masons in wall construction.

In constructing a brick or block wall, the usual practice is to provide a trig line (sometimes called twig line) extending between corners of the wall for locating the upper edges or corner line of bricks to be laid in the following course. When the trig line is of appreciable length, it has a tendency to sway and sag which interferes with the accurate laying of the course. In such situations, the common practice is to carefully spot and plumb a central brick between the ends of the trig line on top of the underlying course to act as a point of reference. Various anchoring devices are known which clamp on the central brick to secure the trig line adjacent thereto. The spotting and plumbing of a central brick is a diiiicult procedure, requiring great skill and an appreciable length of time during which other masons working on the same wall must cease working. This results in greater construction costs, as well as lost time and poor utilization of skilled labor.

Heretofore, devices have been suggested to aid in spotting and plumbing the central brick; however, such devices only partially solve the problem, since an appreciable time is still required for properly laying the central brick while other masons are forced to stop working.

The principal objects of the present invention are: to provide a masons trig line holder for supporting and accurately positioning the central portion of a trig line without the need for a central brick; to provide such a device which requires very little time to be accurately placed in use so as not to interfere with the work of other masons on the job; to provide such a brick laying instrument which relies on the plumbness of a plurality of preceding courses for locating the position of the trig line; to provide such a device which is easily adjustable to accommodate variations in brick size and mortar layer thickness; and to provide such a device which is simple in construction, easily used by the semi-skilled and is rugged and dependable in service.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth by way of illustration and example certain embodiments of this invention.

FIG. l is a front elevation showing a brick wall with an instrument embodying this invention thereon supporting a trig line extending thereacross.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view on an enlarged scale of the wall and trig line holder, showing the relationship between portions thereof.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view through the trig line holder on an enlarged scale particularly showing a gusset plate for maintaining an accurate relationship between the parts thereof.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional View on an enlarged scale through the holder taken on the line 4 4, FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a wall with a modified trig line holder mounted thereon.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view through the trig line holder of FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawings in more detail:

The reference numeral 1 generally indicates a masons trig line holder embodying this invention. The holder 1 is illustrated as mounted on the upper course 2 of a brick wall 3 under construction. In the example shown, corner bricks a and 5 are placed on the upper course 2 and suitable conventional instruments 6 are fixed respectively thereto for anchoring the ends 7 and 8 of a trig line 9.

The trig line holder 1, in the illustrated example, is depicted as located centrally between the trig line ends 7 and however, it is to be understood that a plurality of holders 1 may be spaced along the wall 3 to support the trig line 9 in several places if desired.

The holder 1 comprises an elongated body 1t) preferably of hard metal plate and having a front portion 11 and a rear portion 11. The body 1@ has a horizontally extending smooth finished lower surface 12 adapted to engage the upper surface 13 of horizontally adjacent bricks 14 in the upper course 2. The body 16 is of suticient width whereby the lower surface 12 extends over a substantial portion of the brick surfaces 13 to aid in insuring proper location and engagement of the holder 1 with respect to the brick surface. The body 10 has an upwardly and rearwardly extending jog at 15 causing the rear portion 11 t0 extend parallel to the surface 12 but spaced thereabove. A ciamp member 16 has a flat forwardly extending plate portion 17 with a vertical thickness equal to the distance between the rear portion 11 and the brick surface 13 for sliding therebetween to substantially form an extension of the body lower surface 12. The portion 17 has an upstanding lug 18 which is adapted to slide in a longitudinally extending slot 19 in the body 11i. Also secured to the clamp member portion 17 and spaced rearwardly of the lug 1S is an upstanding threaded stud 29 which extends through the slot 19 and has a wing nut 21 engaged therewith. By unscrewing the wing nut 21, the clamp member 16 may be longitudinally moved with respect to the body 10 to any position permitted by the cooperative guiding of the lug 1S and stud 20 in the slot 19. When a desirable position is obtained, the reverse turning of the wing nut 21 fixes the relative position between the body 10 and the clamp member 16. The clamp member 16 terminates at the rear portion thereof in a resilient downwardly rearwardly and forwardly curved portion 22 for resiliently engaging the rear surface 23 of a brick.

A vertically depending leg 24 is fixed at the upper end 25 thereof to the front portion 11 of the body 10 at right angles thereto. The leg 24 has a smooth rear or brick face contacting surface 26 and a smooth front surface Z7 extending parallel to the rear surface 26. In the illustrated example, the leg 24 depends from the body 10 a length substantially equal to ve brick courses, which courses include mortar spaces 28 between the respective bricks. It is to be understood, however, that the leg 24 may be a much shorter length, for example l1/z courses, and still function as described below. A triangular gusset plate 29 is secured to the leg 24 and body 10 adjacent the junction thereof and is adapted to be inserted into the soft mortar between the two bricks 14 on the upper course 2. The function of the gusset plate 29 is to provide extra rigidity between the leg 24 and body 10 whereby the trig line holder 1 may function as an accurate measuring instrument.

An elongated vertically extending rule gauge 3i) has an upper end 31 terminating in an open-ended trig line anchor loop 32 adapted to receive and support the trig line 9. The rule gauge 36 has suitable indicia 33 spaced therealong and adapted to cooperate with indicating points 34 on the leg front surface 27 to indicate the vertical height of the anchor loop 32 with respect to the lower surface 12 of the body 11i. The rule gauge 30 has an elongated slot 35 extending longitudinally thereof and adapted to slidably receive an upstanding lug 36 formed on the surface 27 of the leg 24. A right angle bracket 37 has one leg 38 thereof secured to the front portion 11 of the body lil and the other leg 39 -thereof extending vertically to form an upstanding surface 40 in the same plane and forming an extension of the leg front surface 27. The leg 39 has a forwardly extending -threaded stud 41 secured thereto and slidably received in and extending through the rule gauge slot 35. The stud 41 is spaced from the lug 35 and receives a wing nut 42 for clamping the rule gauge tightly against the upstanding surface 40. The stud 41 and lug 36 cooperate with the slot 35 to guide the rule gauge Sti longitudinally with respect to the leg 24 and the wing nut 42 functions to secure the relative positions thereof in the manner of the wing nut 21. The interior 43 of the anchor loop 32 which receives the trig line 9 is positioned vertically upwardly with respect to (in the plane of) the leg rear surface 26 which contacts the front faces 44 of the bricks in respective lower courses.

A bubble or spirit level 45 is secured to the leg 38 of the angle bracket 37 longitudinally of the body l@ to act as a convenient indicator to check the horizontal position of the lower surface 12 -and hence the vertical position of the rule-gauge 30.

ln operation,wheu it is determined that a central support for .thetri'g line 9 is required, the rule gauge 3@ is adjusted whereby the anchor loop 32 is located with respect to the lower surface 12 a height or distance equal to the height of a course of bricks which includes one layer of mortar. The clamp member 16 is adjusted longitudinally of the body 1t) whereby the portion 22 is adapted to snugly resiliently engage the rear surface of a brick with` the front surface thereof pressed against the rear surface 26 of the leg 24. As noted above, the gusset plate 29 is Vrelieved by pressing into wet mortar located between adjacent bricks in the top course, which mortar can be later pointed up when the next course has been applied. The holder 1 then presents the anchor loop 32 in a position whereby the trig line 9 may be supported at the front upper corner line of the following brick course, without the need for spotting and plumbing a central brick to locate the trig line position. Due to the above-described configuration, the holder is easily adjustable for various sizes of bricks and blocks.

Referring to the modified form depicted in FIGS. and 6, the body 46 is of constant cross-section over the entire length thereof and the clamp member 47 is secured thereto in reversed relation whereupon the trig line holder 43 may be left in position on the wall as succeeding courses are laid. The rule gauge 49 is merely raised to the height of the following course as indicated by the indicia 50. Depending on the relative lengths of the holder portions, five or six courses may easily be laid without moving the body 46. When the body 4o is to be moved, the clamp member 47 is removed and the body 46 is longitudinally slid out. The opening left is subsequently pointed up by the mason.

A spirit level 51, if desired, may be mounted on the vertical leg 52.

It is to be understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not to be limited to the specific arrangement of parts herein described and shown except insofar as such limitations are included in the claims.

What l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A masons trig line holder adapted to eliminate the spotting and plumbing of a central brick on a course between end corners comprising:

(a) an elongated body having a front and rear portion and a horizontally extending lower surface for engaging the upper surface of a brick course, said body having at said front portion a vertically extending leg fixed thereto, said leg having a brick front face contacting rear surface and a front surface parallel to `said rear surface, said leg depending from said body a length greater than the total height of a brick course,

(b) resilient clamping means secured to said body and depending therefrom in the vicinity of said body rear portion, said clamping means being adapted to resiliently contact a brick rear face, for clamping said holder on a brick between said clamping means and said leg with said lower surface engaging the upper surface of the brick,

(c) an elongated verically extending rule gauge having an upper end terminating in a line anchor loop,

means adjustably securing said rule gauge in contact with said front surface for vertical adjustment with respect to said lower surface to aV height equal to the height of a brick course, said loop being positioned in the plane of said rear surface,

(d) whereby a trig line is supported on the upper corner line of an unlaid succeeding brick course.

2. A masons trig line holder for eliminating the spotting and plumbing of central bricks comprising:

(a) a body having a front portion and locating means for engaging the upper surface of a brick, said front portion having a vertically extending leg fixed thereto, said leg having a brick front face contacting rear surface,

(b) clamping means secured to said body and depending therefrom, said clamping means being adapted to contact a brick rear face for clamping said holder on a brick between said clamping means and said les,

(c) a member fixed with respect to said body and having an upper end terminating in a trig line anchor loop, said anchor loop being positioned the height of at least one brick and mortar layer above said locating means, said loop being positioned in the plane of said rear surface, and

(d) a gusset plate rigidly connected between said body and said leg and adapted for insertion into soft mortar between respective bricks for adding rigidity between said body and said leg,

(e) whereby a trig line is adjustably supported on the upper corner line of an unlaid succeeding brick course.

3. A masons -trig line holder for eliminating the spotr Vting and plumbing of central bricks comprising:

(a) a body having a front portion and a rear portion and locating means for engaging the upper surface of a brick, said body having a length greater than the transverse width of a brick and a vertical thickness less than the vertical separation between adjacent bricks courses, said front portion having a vertically extending leg fixed thereto, said leg having a brick front face contacting rear surface,

( b) clamping means secured to said body rear portion and depending therefrom, said clamping means being removable from said body and adapted to contact a brick rear face for clamping said holder on a brick between said clamping means and said leg,

(c) a member fixed with respect to said body and having an upper end terminating in a trig line anchor loop, said anchor loop being adjustably positioned the height of a plurality of brick and mortar layers above said locating means, said loop being positioned in the plane of said rear surface,

(d) whereby a trig line is adjustably supported on the upper corner liner of succeeding brick courses while preceding brick courses are laid over said body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Carr June 16, 1942 

1. A MASON''S TRIG LINE HOLDER ADAPTED TO ELIMINATE THE SPOTTING AND PLUMBING OF A CENTRAL BRICK ON A COURSE BETWEEN END CORNERS COMPRISING: (A) AN ELONGATED BODY HAVING A FRONT AND REAR PORTION AND A HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING LOWER SURFACE FOR ENGAGING THE UPPER SURFACE OF A BRICK COURSE, SAID BODY HAVING AT SAID FRONT PORTION A VERTICALLY EXTENDING LEG FIXED THERETO, SAID LEG HAVING A BRICK FRONT FACE CONTACTING REAR SURFACE AND A FRONT SURFACE PARALLEL TO SAID REAR SURFACE, SAID LEG DEPENDING FROM SAID BODY A LENGTH GREATER THAN THE TOTAL HEIGHT OF A BRICK COURSE, (B) RESILIENT CLAMPING MEANS SECURED TO SAID BODY AND DEPENDING THEREFROM IN THE VICINITY OF SAID BODY REAR PORTION, SAID CLAMPING MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO RESILIENTLY CONTACT A BRICK REAR FACE, FOR CLAMPING SAID HOLDER ON A BRICK BETWEEN SAID CLAMPING MEANS AND SAID LEG WITH SAID LOWER SURFACE ENGAGING THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE BRICK, (C) AN ELONGATED VERICALLY EXTENDING RULE GAUGE HAVING AN UPPER END TERMINATING IN A LINE ANCHOR LOOP, MEANS ADJUSTABLY SECURING SAID RULE GAUGE IN CONTACT WITH SAID FRONT SURFACE FOR VERTICAL ADJUSTMENT WITH RESPECT TO SAID LOWER SURFACE TO A HEIGHT EQUAL TO THE HEIGHT OF A BRICK COURSE, SAID LOOP BEING POSITIONED IN THE PLANE OF SAID REAR SURFACE, (D) WHEREBY A TRIG LINE IS SUPPORTED ON THE UPPER CORNER LINE OF AN UNLAID SUCCEDING BRICK COURSE. 